Subject: Re: [OT]: why are Atmels so cheap vs. PICs
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> > Currently in Hong Kong the PIC16F84A-04/P cost me $US1.92 in lots of
> > several 100 while the Atmel AT89C2051-24PC costs me $US0.63 and
> > AT90S1200-12PC are $US1.26.
> >
> > Consequently, in my current projects I am telling former PIC
> > developers that I want an Atmel uC. If they cannot do it, sorry.
> >
> > Why are general PIC uC's so expensive?
>
> Try designing with the 16F627 in mind instead of the 16F84.

>I second that. I use the AT89C2051 and PIC16F84 in some projects
>and I like them both, but the PIC16F627 blows them away for
>hardware features, and as someone else pointed out recently, is
>around half the cost of the F84.
 >
>Which raises another question: why are the PIC16F627 and
>PIC16F628 so much cheaper than the PIC16F84 which they can
>easily replace?


Unfortunately, neither the 627 or 628 are available in Hong Kong. Maybe
this is because the Microchip office here is very poor (my two dealings
with them recently showed them to be uninterested in any business), or it
is just that so little original work is done in Asia that new designs from
north America/Europe have not filtered thru to here yet.

Certainly it is my impression that Atmel is more 'popular' here than
Microchip, and the prices I quoted show why.

regards,

Peter Crowcroft
            DIY Electronics (HK) Ltd
      PO Box 88458, Sham Shui Po, Hong Kong
Voice: 852-2720 0255,  6273 2049(m)   Fax: 852-2725 0610
Web:  http://kitsrus.com     Email: peter@kitsrus.com
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